Machine for dewaxing and lacquering paper shotgun shell cartridges



Nov. l2, 1946. w. N. KING ETAL .MACHINE FOR DEWAXING AND LACQUERINGPAPER SHOTGUN SHELL CARTRIDGES Filed Sept. 16, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet lNov. l2, 1946. w. N. KING ETAL MACHINE FOR DEWAXING AND LACQUERING PAPERSHOTGUN SHELL CARTRIDGES Filed Sept. 16, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Qmw u NQ

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 LACQUER/NG 5 W. N. KING ETAL Filed Sept. 16, 1944 zalWlPlNGF/G MACHINE FOR DEWAXING AND LACQUERING PAPER SHOTGUN SHELLCARTRIDGES DEwAx/N'G 1fo/`s1:h'/1R sf.= /6.4

Nov. 12, 1946.

m M um M @www /NNHM www, WZ www@ N LOAD/Ns 3 "Patented Nov. 12, 1946MACHINE FOR DEWAXING AND LACQUER- ING PAPER TRIDGES Y SHOTGUN SHELL CAR-William N. King, Nicholas A. Romanchuk, and Wilbert H. Ward, Anoka.,Minn., assignors to Federal Cartridge Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn., acorporation of Minnesota Application September 16, 1944, Serial No.554,508

Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic, large capacity apparatus forfinishing impregnated paper articles and is especially adapted for thenishing of shotgun shells, mortar shells and the like. As usuallyconstructed such shells are -fabricated from a parailin impregnatedpaper tube having a suitably shaped brass or other metal cup or basepressed thereon. Shells of this character have limited waterproofnessand a relatively poor finish. In the copending application of William N.King, Ser. No. 550,667, filed August 22, 1944, there are disclosedmethods and simple manual apparatus for better nishing and waterproofingpaper shells.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus foraccomplishing this operation of iinishing impregnated paper articles ofmanufacture, and particularly to provide a large capacity apparatus ofsuch capabilities. It is a further object of the invention to provide anapparatus for the finishing of paramn wax impregnated paper shotgunshells, mortar shells and the like in one automatic continuousoperation.

Other and further objects are those inherent in the apparatus hereinillustrated, described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings wherein the same parts havethe same numbers, and wherein f Figures la and 1b, taken together, are aside elevational view, partly in section, of the apparatus of thepresent invention, and Figures 2a and 2b, taken together, are a planview with the top cover portions removed. The apparatus is long ascompared to its width and height and two sheets of drawings aretherefore employed to illustrate these side and top views. The drawingsshould be set end to end, with the sheet containing Figures 1a and 2athereon to the right;`

of the sheet containing Figures 1b and 2b.

Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 'l are sectional views of Figures la and 1b,respectively. Figure 3 shows the loading station; Figure 4 shows in itsupper part the solvent dewaxing section and in its lower part thedischarge station; Figure 5 shows the lacuuering section; Figure 6 showsthe wiping section; and Figure 'I shows the drying section.

Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged detaired plan and side views, respectively,of one of the shellcarrying links of the conveyor chain used intheapparatus.

prises a relatively long narrow horizontal frame generally designated l0which may conveniently be of wood or metal comprising a number of bentslI- of varying sizes, depending upon the apparatus supported at theseveral stations in the treating machine. The bents are held together byhorizontal stringers 2i and 22 about mid-way between the top and thebottom and top plates 23 and 24 and 25 and 26.

1n The article-treating machine includes a conveyor chain generallydesignated 30 which is Referring to the drawings the apparatus comguidedby a series `of sprockets 3I43 and 3 l '-43' through a series oftreating stations and sections including a loading station 45, a solventdewaxing section 46, a solventl evaporation section 41, a lacqueringsection 48, a wiper section 49, and a plurality of drying sections 5il5iand finally a discharge station 52.4 These stations and sections aredescribed in greater detail hereinafter.

'I'he conveyor mechanism comprises a pair of spaced chain links 30a and30b that are joined together by parallel hanger bars 30e, as shown inFigures 8 and 9. The construction of the hanger bars is such as readilyto carry the articles undergoing treatment. The apparatus of the presentinvention is especially adapted for the treatment of shotgun shells,mortar shells, and the like, and the invention will therefore bedescribed with reference to this adaptation. For the carrying of shotgunshells. mortar shells and the like, the opposite chain links 30a and 30hvare joined together by a hanger bar 30e which is provided with aplurality of holes 30d of suitable gauge for handling the particularshells undergoing treatment. Thus, for 12 gauge shells the holes 30d aresuch as to permit the body of the shells readily to pass through theholes 30d, but they are sufficiently small so that the rim of the shellS, Figure 9, rests on the upper surface of the plate 30e andr allows theshell to hang downwardly therefrom. 'I'he shell cup which is usually ofbrass is terminated at 53, Figure 9, the lower part of the shell beingthe standard paraffin impregnated paper portion 54. It will be notedthat the hanger plates 30e are spaced downwardly from the chain links30a and 30h by means of a spacing collar 30g, the hanger plates 30ebeing fastened permanently to the chain links by means of rivets 30ewhich pass through the side ears 30j of the chain links, thence throughthe spacing collars 30g' and the hanger plate 30e and nnally are rivetedto .the bottom. Every chain link in the conveyor is provided with ahanger plate 30e and therefore the composite chain presents a relativelysolid surface having a large number of properly gauged holes thereininto which an operator feeding the machine may readily place the shells.The chains 30a and 30h are represented by the single lines in Figures 2aand 2b, but it will be understood that the conveyor is composed of aseries of units like that shown in Figure 8.

At the loading station 45 there is provided a table surface formed bythe plates 23 and 24 which serve on their spaced inner edges to supportangle iron rails 55 and 56, as illustrated in Figure 3. The links of thechain 36a slide along the horizontal surface of the rail 55 whereasthose of the chain 30h slide' along the rail 56. As the chains carryingthe hanger plates 36e come up around sprocket 3I--3I', Figure la, theoperator drops shells S into the holes, preferably lling every hole inthe conveyor mechanism.

It might be noted that in most instances each set of sprocket wheels forguiding the conveyor chain is carried on and keyed to a shaft extendingacross the machine, and the sprocket wheels of each set thus tend tokeep one side of the chain from traveling faster than the other side andthus prevent the hanger plates 30 from being pulled askew. There are afew instances wherein the sprocket wheels are not mounted upon a singleshaft, for example sprockets 38-38, 39-39 where it is desired to allowfree space below the sprockets for the dripping of the lacquer from theshells.

From the loading station 45 the chain conveyor passes over the sprocketwheels 32-32' and thence downwardly along the slope 56 and under thesprocket wheels 33-33 and along the ho-rizontal traverse 51, under thesprocket wheels 34-34, thence upwardly at 58 and over sprockets 35-35'and along the upper horizontal traverse 59 to sprockets 36-36.

The solvent dewaxing section 46 and the solvent drying section 41 arepreferably made as a unitary tank that is supported upon bents I3, I4and I5. The side Walls of both sections terminate at the upper line 62.'I'he solvent dewaxing section has a bottom at 63 and end walls 64 and65. The end wall 65 is blended into the insulated wall 66 and thencecontinues as bottom 61 of the solvent evaporation section which has alittle slope as indicated, downwardly from wall 68 to the d rain tube.The drain tube 69 permits condensed solvextends along the wall of thesolvent evaporation and solvent dewaxing sections, is carried around theend at 12. A cold water inlet pipe 14, FigureA i 2a, is provided intotheside wall 10 at a low level and the water flows thence through the waterjacket along the solvent evaporation section and the solvent dewaxingsection through the water jacket 12 around the end of the solventdewaxing section, thence through the Water jacket 1I along the oppositewall of the solvent dewaxing and solvent evaporation sections to anoutlet pipe 15, Figure 2a, located near the top of the water jacket 1Iin the solvent evaporation section. In this manner the side walls of thesolvent dewaxing and solvent evaporation sections are maintained verycool for the purpose of condensing any rising solvent vapors.

In the solvent dewaxing section the Water jacket extends only to thelevel of line 16', the remaining portion of the side wall below thatline being not jacketed and hence not cooled. The bottom of the solventdewaxing section forms a pan,"as indicated at 16 in which there isplaced a solvent capable of dissolving the impregnating medium of theshotgun shells. The solvent is chosen so as to dissolve the impregnatingmaterial. Paraln is most frequently used as the paper impregnatingmedium in` shotgun shells and suitable solvents for paraflincapable ofbeing used in the present apparatusare carbon tetrachloride,trichlorethylene, tetrachlorethylene, benzene, hexane, and the like. Inorder to boil and evaporate the solvent in the pan 16, there is provideda heater coil 18 which has an inlet pipe 19 and an outlet pipe 80, whichmay, if desired, be suitably controlled by a thermostatic valve notillustrated. An electric heater with automatic temperature control mayalso be used if desired. A sufllcient heater surface is provided so thatthe solvent is boiled and the solvent vapors rise into contact with theshells S which are suspended along the path of travel 51 a shortdistance above the level of the Iboiling solvent in the pan 16.

The solvent rising into contact with the relatively cool shells enteringthe 'solvent dewaxing section condenses upon the surface of the shellsand dissolves the Wax in the surface layers of the paper of the shell.'Ihe solvent flows back into the pan 16 carrying the wax with it wherethe solvent is again evaporated and again flows into contact with theshells passing through the solvent dewaxing section. The condensation ofsol vent and accompanying dewaxing function continues until the shellhas been heated by the hot solvent vapors to a temperature equal to thetern perature of the vapors, whereupon condensation substantiallyceases. The rate of travel through the solvent dewaxing section isusually suillcient however that theshells continue to condense sol ventthereon during the entire period within this section. Y y

.The relatively closely spaced hanger plates 30o form a surface whichserves to stop a considerable amount of vapors from rising much abovethe level of the hanger plates 30e but any vapors which do rise abovethis point are promptly condensedby the cold water-jacketed Walls 10, 1Iand 12. In this Way the solvent is conserved andv contamination of airabout the machine is minimized. If desired, an exhaust fan having inletsin the region 8l and 82 may Ibe provided After having been dewaxed insection 46 the conveyor chain carries the shells upwardly and along thehorizontal traverse 59 through the residual solvent evaporation section.In this sec tion the shells which have been heated by the hot solventvapors cause any .residual solvent on the cated at 84 and under thesprockets 31-31' andl thence up the gradual slope 85, over sprockets38-38 and along the nearly horizontal slope 86 and over sprockets 39-39onto the guide rails 81-88. As the conveyor passes down so as to gounder sprockets 31-31' the shells are brought to a suiiciently low pointso that the bath of lacquer L in pan' 90 coats the shells to a levelslightly higher than the lower margin of the brass portion of the shell,thus covering the entire paper side wall and end portions of the shell,as well as the lower margin of the brass.

The lacquering section is shown in sectional view in Figure 5, thelacquer pan being illustrated at 90. The depth of lacquer L in the pan90 is maintained by a stand pipe 9| in the side well 92. The stand pipe9| is screw threaded at 93 into the nipple 94 and the bottom of thenipple 94 is closed by a cap 95 which is gasketed at 95. Ii.' desired, avalve may be placed .on the `bottom of thenipple 94. The stand pipe 9|is provided with a hole 91 which determines the level of the lacquer Land by substituting stand pipes with holes at different levels, anydesired level may be maintained in the lacquer pan 90 so as toaccommodate different shells. The lacquer may be introduced into thewell by means of a pipe 98 provided with a control valve 99 and theexcess lacquer drained off by removal of cap 95.

` On the down slope 84 of the conveyor chain, Figure 1a, some shellsoccasionally have a tendency to lift up a slight amount from the hangerplates 30e, and to insure each shell being iirmly 4 in place in thehanger plate and thus insure lacquering to a uniform level, there isprovided a short length of heavy pipe which is suspended on a hanger bar|02. The pipe |0| is adjusted so that it is slightly out of contact witha shell head that is properly seated in the hanger plates 30e, but ifany shell works up it is promptly pushed back by the pipe |0I.

As the conveyor chain passes under the sprocket 31-31' and oversprockets 38-38' and sprockets S9-39', the shells are lifted out of thelacquer bath and the excess lacquer drips downwardly to the bottom ofthe shell and onto the drain slope |04, whence the drained lacquerreturns to the main body of lacquer L in the pan 90. After the shellshave thus drained small drops oflacquer form at the lower edge, and toremove them the Wiper 49 is provided. Thus when the conveyor has begunits traverse along the rails 81--88 the shells initially pass in contactwith the wiper roller which rotates on shaft |05 in a small pan |01containing a lacquer solvent LS'. 'I'he roller |05 is preferably made ofbrush bristles closely set together and is adjusted so that the bottomedges of the shells rotate into contact with it, thus causing the rollerto rotate continuously in the lacquer solvent. In this way fresh lacquersolvent is continuously brought up by the bristles into contact with theoncoming shells. The action of brush |05 is to remove the droplets oflacquer which collect on the bottom of the shells.

From the wiper section 49 the shells pass into the rst part 50 of thedrying section Where they are heated by the heating coils ||0 which arepreferably steamheated, the amount of heat being controlled by valve|I|. Electrical heaters or infra-red ray lamps may also be used. Theshells are gradually-heated in this section so as not .to causeblistering. At I2 the conveyor chain leaves the rails 81--88 and passesonto the large drive sprocket wheels 40 and 40' that are mounted onshaft I4 which is in turn journaled upon the angle iron framework I I5.The shaft ||4 extends through the side Wall of the apparatus and isprovided with a drive sprocket |I1 that is driven through chain I8 bythe pinion |20 on the reduction gear box |2|. 'I'he reduction gear ispropelled by'a belt drive |22 from the motor |23. By changing the ratioof the large and small pulleys on the belt drive |22, any desiredconveyor speed may be achieved. l

From the drive sprockets 40-40' the conveyor chain passe-s downwardlyalong the guide plate |25Vwhich extends downwardly along the slope |25and thence horizontally at |21 through the drying section 5|. The dryingsection Ill is heated by steam pipes or other heating means |28 which iscontrolled by a valve |29. The guide plate |25 Iis as wide as the entireconveyor` chain and hanger plates and supports the conveyor chain andthe shells in the plates 30e by permitting the shells to slide alongwith their heads in contact with the guide plate |25. The shells arethus held in the holes in hanger plates 30e from which they wouldotherwise drop. The guide plate |25 extends throughout the dryingsection 5| and thence through an opening |30 in wall I3I, under thewiper section 49 and lacquering section 48 and is terminated at lip |35underthe solvent drying section, see`Figure la. At this point there isprovided another section of heavy pipe |36 suspended on the hanger |31to insure the shells S being knocked out of the hanger plates 30eat'this point, if they shouldl tend to stick. The shells fall into thedischarge trough |38 at the discharge station 52, the trough .beingslanted as illustrated in Figure 4 so that the shells slide downwardlyto inspection and packing departments located at a level below theapparatus here illustrated. Y

The entire apparatus of the present invention is enclosed along its sidewalls and is provided with a cover |40 which is preferably made ineasily handled sections and heldin place by cleats |4I, v

as indicated in Figures 4-7. The cover |40 extends from the loadingstation, thence clown and across the solvent dewaxing section, entirelyalong the apparatus to the drying section, but is interrupted at |43,Figure 1b, so as to allow a space |44 through which a controlled amountof air may be admitted into the drying apparatus. A small adjustablecover at |45 is iltted so as to vary the size of opening |43, so as morereadily to adjust the in-flow of air at this point.

Recirculation of dryingl air through the drying sections 50 and 5| isprovided by :a blower mechanism |50 having an inlet pipe |5| extendingacross the apparatus as indicated at |52. The pipe |52 is open tosection 50 and serves to Withdraw the drying air from drying section 50,as indicated by arrow |53. The wall |54 at the wiper section is carriedup to a position very close to the bottom of the shells S at this pointso as to wall off as much as possible the ow of vapors from thelacquering and wiper sections into the drying section. The suctionoptionally applied at 8| or 82 may also be relied upon tor balance thenegative pressure at |54 and thus prevent too much solvent vapor frombeing drawn into the drying section. The outlet from* blower |50 is byway oi' pipe |55 which delivers to port |51 into the drying section 5Iwhere the air distributes by way of yarrows |58 and |59. The air isunder pressure in the drying section 5| and hence some air escapes, asshown by arrow |60 through the outlet hole '|30 in wall |3| throughwhich the dried shells also pass on their way to the delivery station.The air moving along the path of arrow |59 in the drying section 5|continues up around baille |62 as shown by the arrow |63 and there joinsincoming air which has entered through port I 44 as indicated by arrow|54 and is drawn horizontally through drying section 50 along the pathof arrow |55, and

|45 at this point, a controlled amount of fresh air can be introduced.If desired, a lacquer` vapor exhaust fan may be provided' and the inletthereto connected to the space under the wiper section as indicated bythe port |66 so as to draw off and exhaust to atmosphere the vapors atthis point and prevent them from spreading throughout the under sideofthe apparatus. The long traverse of the dried shells under thelacquering section to the discharge station permits adequate cooling andhardening of the lacquered shells prior to discharge.

The apparatus of the present invention makes possible the application oflacquers, paints or waxes to impregnated articles, 'such as shotgunshells, under controlled conditions and insures high output of uniformlytreated articles.

As many apparently4 widely different embodiments of this invention maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to beunderstood that we do not limit ourselves to the specific embodimentsherein except as dened by the appended claims.

' What we claim is:

l. An apparatus for surface finishing the paraffin wax impregnated papercomponents of shotgun shells and the like comprising an elongatedenclosure, a conveyor mounted for travel from a loading station at oneend of said enclosure, thence along the top of said enclosure and backalong the bottom of said enclosure and return to said loading station,means for solvent vapor dewaxing the/shells and for evaporation ofresidual solvent fron the shells, means for coating the shells with adryable liquid coating material arranged along the top of saidenclosure, and reans in said enclosure for' heating the shells to drythe liquid coating thereon and for then discharging the shells from theconveyor.

,2. The apparatus of claim l wherein the means fr heating the shells todry the 1iqu1d coating includes a multiple part tunnel in saidenclosure, heating means therein, air recirculating means includingmeans for withdrawing air from one tunnel part and for introducing saidair into the other tunnel pant and said tunnel being provided with anopening for introducing a controlled amount of fresh air into therecirculated air liquid solvent, said vessel being provided with sidewalls having cooling means thereon, said side walls extending upwardlyaround said pan, heater means in the pan-like bottom of said vessel, aflexible conveyor having shotgun shell suspending hangers thereon andmeans for guiding said conveyor chain along a substantially horizontalpath located so that shotgun shells suspended by the hangers areslightly above the solvent liquid level of the pan.

6. The apparatusV of claim 5 further characterized in that a trough-likeresidual solvent evaporating chamber is joined to the end of the streamat one place while a corresponding A amount of air is exhausted duringrecirculation.

3. The apparatus of claim l further characterized in thatthe loadingstation, the means for solvent vapor dewaxing and evaporation ofresidual solvent thereon, the means for coating the shells are alllocated along the upper part of the elongated enclosure and the meansfor heating the shells is located partially in the upper part andpartially in the lower part of said enclosure.`

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the conveyorincludes a pair of spaced link chains mounted for movement in parallel,oppositely located links of said chain being connected together withplates having holes therein for hanging shells downwardly therethroughat the loading station, the shells being thus suspended while passingthrough the means for solvent vapor dewaxing and4 evaporation ofsolvent, and while passing through the means for coating the shells witha dryable liquid.

5. In an apparatus for surface finishing shotgun shells and the like, atrough-like vessel having a pan bottom for containing an evaporabletrough-like vessel, at the end towards which the conveyor chain moves,said chamber also being provided with means for cooling the wallsthereof, the bottom of said chamber being at a level above and drainedto the pan of said trough-like vessel, and means for supporting thechain for guiding it through said chamber.

7. An apparatus for lacquering tubular shells comprising means forsuspending said shells and .for conveying the thus suspended shells,means f for applying a dryable lacquer .to the shells as they areconveyed, and means for brushing the downwardly extending ends of theshells as they are conveyed to remove drops of dryable lacquer formingthereon, said means comprising a brush carrying a solvent for thedryable lacquer.

8. An apparatus for the automatic finishing ,of impregnated articleswhich comprises a carrier for said articles movable along a path oftravel, a. loading station at one point'in the path of travel of saidcarrier, a first enclosure around a further portion of the path oftravel of said carrier after it leaves the loading station, saidenclosure containing a solvent for the impregnating material in saidarticles undergoing treatment and means for vaporizing said solvent,said enclosure forming a zone for coniining hot vapors of solvent, meansfor guiding the carrier and the articles thereon through said zone forremoval of said impregnating material from the surface of the articlesby condensation of the solvent thereon, means for cooling a portion ofsaid enclosure in said vapor zone and further along the path of travelof said carrier for condensing vapors from the residue of solvent onsaid articles, a second enclosure further along the path of travel ofsaid carrier, a tank in said second enclosure for containing a dryablewaterproof finish, means for guiding the articles on said carrier intothe finish in said tank for applying said finish to the surface of thearticles, means for heating a portion of said second enclosure fordrying the waterproof nish applied to said articles and a dischargestation further along the path of travel ofsaid carrier for dischargingthe articles therefrom.

9. An apparatus for the automatic surface iinishingA of wax impregnatedpaper articles such as the tubular paper portions of shotgun shellscomprising an elongated vessel having a depression along a portionthereof for containing a solvent and a drain sheet extending outwardlyfrom one end of said depression, connected to the vat so as to drainthereinto, heating means for said vat, upwardly extending walls aroundthe vat and drain sheet, cooling means for said walls, a conveyor havingmeans thereon for holding the articles being treated, means for guiding"the conveyor past a loading station and then downwardly into the vesseland over the depression through hot solvent vapors arising from solventin said depression, then over lthe drain sheet and then out from betweensaid walls, a. lacquer vat and means for guiding the conveyor downwardlyto a position to bring the articles being treated, while still hot fromthe solvent vapors, into lacquer in said vat and then out of saidlacquer for drainage and drying.

10. A lacquering apparatus comprising an enclosure containing a solventand forming a'zone for conning hot vapors of said solvent, saidenclosure including a deep trough having a bottom pan and upwardlyextending walls, means for cooling said walls, means for suspending thel0 articles being treated* and conveying them thus suspended throughsaid enclosure, means for applying a dryable lacquer to the articles asthey are conveyed, means for brushing the downwardly extending ends ofthe articles as they are conveyed to remove drops of dryable lacquerforming thereon, said means for brushing comprising a brush carrying asolvent for the dryable lac-

